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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. field — farmland
  3. fall — to drop
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. field — for sport
  9. fall — the season
  10. current — happening now
  11. bat — the animal
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. current — of water
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com